Hi all - just found this board and really glad to expand my knowledge of Bettas...

I rec'd an abandoned Betta over a year ago (he was being used as a prop for a celebrity gossip columnist on his taped show - ugh!) and I just lost him yesterday.

He was living in a 2 gallon tank (filter, live plants and light) and was seemingly happy and well until yesterday. He was fine in the morning and then jumped out of his tank (thru the small opening on the top of the tank)... I found him shortly thereafter and put him back in his tank... after a few minutes, he began to have white scaly layers peeling off of his body... he never recovered and died a few hours later...

I had fed him his bloodworms in the morning and he ate them with his usual zest... then for no reason he jumped... the water in the tank was changed a week before, no temperature changes, no dying plants... all was the same as far as I can tell.

Naturally, I am devastated and want to see if others could offer help before I get another Betta.

What I can suggest for next time (I do hope there will be a next time for you!) is that you make sure you have a heater (I don't know if you do or not at the moment) to keep your water at 80F, and that you do 50% water changes per week. :) Also, if bloodworms were the staple diet, I strongly suggest switching to a good quality pellet like Omega One or New Life Spectrum.

Please don't feel bad - I honestly don't think it was anything you did that made him jump.

Also, maybe see if you can cover the hole with a screen or a piece of plastic that has large holes (but not enough for the betta to be able to jump out of). Also, make sure your water level is an inch away from the top too. I also don't think you did anything wrong, but chances are, he probably picked something from where he landed in which case caused his death. Nothing of your fault though.

I'm sorry to hear you lost your little boy. Jumping is a problem that seems to have no real cause. I've had boys find the smallest hole in a top and take it. I've had them jump dividers. And I've had them just decide to take a jump when the lid is off for a water change. Really the only solution is to make sure all the holes are covered. I took the extra craft mesh from making my dividers and placed it over holes in the lids. I also rubber band the mesh bags that turkeys come in (cleaned of course) over my bowls when I have to keep boys in bowls.

And as Bomba mentioned, a heater is always good with a betta. They like temps between 78F and 84F; as water temp is usually lower than room temp, the best way to keep the tank warm is with a heater.